I live in the Chicago area and work downtown in the loop which is the heart of the downtown business area for those not familiar.  Until recently I was working in a building that has security in the form of doormen and women.  These folks sit and watch the doors, assist people with directions, help keep order at the elevators and such, just like most doormen.  The entrance that I always used was on the backside which sees a lot less traffic and has fewer elevators which often means you stand around waiting for an elevator.

The morning doorman for this entrance is an older African-American gentleman who has worked at the building for many years.  In over two years of working at the building he and I had usually never had more of a conversation other than how the local sports teams were doing, the weather, or just a polite "Hello" when I came through the lobby on my way to the elevators.

Hitting the airwaves right now is the story that Israel and Syria are in peace talks moderated by Turkey.  These talks have been going on for a year or so.

Israel, Syria Acknowledge Indirect Peace Negotiations

The best part of this article is the following:

David Welch, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, told reporters in Washington that the U.S. was kept informed by Turkey and Israel of the talks though wasn't doing any direct mediation.

The US knew about this, presumably for some time now.  And yet just last week Mr. Bush delivered his comments before the Knesset in Israel about appeasement that set off heated comments between Obama and McCain.  Wasn't Syria previously labeled as a state sponsor of terrorism / terrorists?

Follow me over the split before my head explodes: